[All four girls are otside Ra'jal'kr's 'office' in Op'ra'kal. Which is the capital of all the Op'Hak's stuff. Yes, the GM is using the big terms on purpose because his memory sucks.] [As per the ChibiRecap they just finished yelling at Mr. Ra'jal'kr. Well, Julie did a lot of the yelling. And Sheila did a lot of the 'avoiding conflict'. Poor not-really-a-kid.] [How Arisa managed to pull off looking like muscle, we may never know. We don't really have to ask how Taki did it. BUT. All that asiding aside, they're now, uh, relatively free to do things now that the fire people say they won't kill anyone. Hooray.] [WNN, something something something 7 or 8 is a go. We hope.] (That's why she has intimidation, dood. No one knows how she does it. Not even her.) (Snicker.) (It's that big pointy stick. If you can keep from looking compleatly rediculouse while holding it, it's quite intimidating. Why did you think Keika didn't throw hers away?) (Because it doubled as a cane when Karasu hit the electric drugs.) ( Damn viruii. Gods my head hurts.) [The hallway they're in is a 'melted from rock' hallway, as most of the palace is. Julie and Sheila are there. Sheila looks a little pouty as she responds, "My concept of excitement is not weird."] * Arisa sighs and then looks at Julie, after casually making sure that no one else is around. "So who's Ji'li'poa?" * Taki eyes Arisa. "Something she can tell you about later. Which way to the former home of the water people?" [Julie looks to Arisa's question, then quickly looks to Taki and says in response, "It--it'll be easier to point out from above. We should head upstairs anyway." (+]) * Taki starts walking back to the stairs. "Let's go then." * Arisa looks at Taki for a moment, then shakes her head, adjusting herself. "Right." She doesn't sound 100% sure, but she follows. [Sheila looks at Arisa ignoring her and hmphs. Julie nods and leads to the staircase. Silently! Some people are visible passing up and down on the staircase as they approach... civvie and military both, probably. One of them, definitely a 'normal' Op'Hak man in what looks like a male halter and a pair of shorts, splits off and heads down along your hallway.] (So he looks like an Op'Hak version of Frei, really.) * Taki glances at him and then proceeds to ignore him untill he does something annoying. * Arisa eyes behind her, then whispers to Julie "Are we being followed?" (IF you're referring to him, he's coming towards you. ^^;) (Not from behind you.) (Oh. Retcon then) * Arisa keeps heading along the pathway, eyes darting this way and that, taking it all in. [Sheila looks to him and smiles a little, waving at him and saying, "Hello!" He's less scary than the general, apparently. He blinks, looking from his apparently 'too distracted to see the humans walking around' self to them, then to Julie, and his eyes widen and he puts his hand to his chest, murmuring, "Op'kahn'sa Jul'pmak'guby."] [Julie just nods back at him slightly with a weak smile. Sheila dims because she got ignored. But neither of them stops.] * Arisa hmms and looks slightly off to the side at the ceiling. "These titles are just getting a little silly, don't you think?" * Taki walks on. The new guy is just going to have to get used to the cold shoulders. (Taki's the ice queen. ) (Oh yeah.) (*doesn't care about you.) [Julie chuckles a little and says, "You get used to it. I'm surprised you don't have titles yet." She joins the people going up the staircase and heads up! And up. And up. Okay, it's not that up.] (He's the GM. You should care or he can end your existance. Or turn you male. Whichever is his whim.) (That's Brett's thing.) * Arisa blinks and points to herself oddly. "Wha--why would I have titles?" (Him and his gender balancing.) (I don't think it's really gender balancing. You have to admit, turning the gay guy into a woman with huge boobies is rather amusing.) (Well, yes, but he joked about gender balancing earlier.) Because they seem to give them to everybody and everything. [Julie chuckles, but Sheila beats her to saying, "You helped stop a war! Shouldn't you be called a 'fighter' or a 'guardian' or an 'avenger' or something? Or an 'guardian wind goddess!' I like that one."] * Arisa smiles to Taki. "Well you can have mine if I ever get an--" She turns to Sheila oddly. "G-guardian wind goddess?" * Arisa is blushing rather profusely at that. So she says. [She says emphatically, "Sure! They're great words. Don't they go together?"] W-well... yes... but... but... [Julie says idly, "I prefer titles in hak'kan, myself, but... well, maybe as humans you deserve a human title?" There's pretty much nobody but you on the stairs now. Well, except those guards up there at the end.] ( I've got a girl who runs around naked half the time calling me goddess. Something's wrong with this picture.) * Taki looks up the stairs and climbs. "I already have one." [Sheila says, "I think it's fine!... well, except for goddess.. I mean, goddesses are goddess, but I can't think of any word that's like goddess but not."] I-I'm fine just the way I am, thanks. [Sheila giggles and then looks to Taki. "Oh, you do, Takishimiru? What is it?" The guards are making no stopping moves.] * Taki looks up at the large pointy axe she's dragged all the way out here. "I was, and am, and will be The Knight of Cups." * Arisa turns away from her embarrassment out of curiousity towards Taki. [Julie smiles a little in amusement. "The knight of... cups? Do you have to protect many cups where you come from?" The guards acknowledge Julie with the old fist-to-chest as you pass and enter... well, well. It's the right side of Vrmy's 'throne' room up ahead! That looks a bit familiar.] * Taki glares at Julie and her voice becomes even colder for a moment. "No." * Arisa whispers to Julie about it "She's a little touchy about it." [Julie can either see behind or maybe she actually has functioning ears, becausse she doesn't respond immediately, although she does nod in agrement to Arisa. Sheila says, "Well, I think it's good too!" She's so easy. A few Op'Hak can be seen cleaning from the, uh, aftereffects of yesterday's battle, both male and female, although they're opting for less tight clothing, shockingly.] * Taki goes back to ignoring the both of them while glancing around the room. * Arisa looks about too. [It looks a lot like it did yesterday. If it weren't for the black stone motif and some different materials... oh, and being a lot larger, it'd look a lot like Guby's room. The table is cleaned up, at least, although rubble from Guby's rock wall is not wholly gone. Julie looks around too, but it's almost certainly not for inspection's purposes... Sheila's just gawking.] * Arisa looks off to the side as she comments. "So what do we expect to find here?" * Taki looks to Julie. "Well?" [Julie opens her mouth to respond, "My father's--" and then one of the people looks up and his eyes widen. "Jul!" he says, drawing Julie from her response, and she crosses the room to the person. Some of the other cleaners stand as well from their work. Grr to interruptions! Oh, also, can't forget the giant crystal in the background. Ooooh. It's Jumotastic.] * Arisa folds her arms. "Figures. Maybe we should have disguised her." (Haw.) * Taki glares at the latest interuption and spins her axe once. "As what?" She then follows the Julie across the room. [Julie and the person hug. Aww. Sheila's staring at the crystal and saying, "A Jumo crystal..." She follows Taki dazedly.] As someone less recognizeable? * Arisa walks along too. [Person says, "I was worried!" Julie says, "Nug, I'm fine, really."] * Taki doesn't answer Arisa and focuses on Julie and her new friend. ['Nug' nods and pulls back from the hug, saying, "I promise we'll have everything cleaned up today, Jul'pmak'gubi." His eyes look to the others and he adds, less friendly-like, "Where are you taking them?"] [Sheila continues staring. This saves the GM effort.] * Taki lets Nug off of the glare and looks at the big glowy crystal she didn't break yesterday. [The crystal is really pretty pretty, as it were. If anything could be said to seem to have flickers of flame actually inside its' surfaces, it does.] * Arisa turns to the crystal as well and stares. [Julie says to Nug, "To the library, although I plan on going to my rooms and no, I don't need you to help."] [Sheila says with a tone of awe, "It's so amazing..."] * Taki turns her attention back to Julie and Nug. [Nug frowns and says, "Ah, Jul... you almost never let us do anything for you." He sighs and nods.] Now that that's straightened out. Let's go. * Arisa walks over to the crystal for a closer look, reaching out her hand. [Julie glances to Taki and nods, saying, "Keep it up, Nug, eh?" She starts to head off to a door that's to the side of the room.] [The crystal only moreso looks like it stores a flame inside from close up. Sheila stopped a meter or two away in her staring. Arisa feels warmth in her hand as she extends it!] (Not dangerous feeling warmth, if she wants to complete her touch.) * Arisa puts her hand to the crystal and keeps looking at it. * Taki follows Julie upstairs, fully intent on leaving Arisa and Sheila up to their own devices. [The surface is hot. Not burning hot, but it probably won't be fun to touch. Arisa gets a feeling of inner warmth from it too. It feels good. She also needs to make a visual perception check.] (Er, to touch for a long time.) (Sorry.) 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Arisa (2d8-2) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 8. [Taki, meanwhile, is following up a small spiral staircase as Julie comments, "Up here is where father and I lived... and his other resources are kept."] [Arisa realizes that her hand is changing tone! It's already taken on a faintly orange tint that is slowly extending up her arm.] * Taki nods. (And RDM can't think of a line that doesn't sound like Keika talking so Taki doesn't get to say anything.) (Snicker.) (Taki should take a new name for her new life. 'Keika'. Just to save you the effort. *cough*) (Keika is analitical and pretending to be cold, Taki is cold and full of hat.) (That's why Kiku loves her!) ( How the hell am I supposed to keep up an act when you can read my emotions directly? You take all the fun out of it.) * Arisa eeks and pulls her hand away, looking it over. ( Tee hee!) [The tone fades from Arisa's hand, but slowly. Sheila jumps and moves closer. "What happened? Did it burn you? I wondered if it'd burn you..."] ( And don't think that girlish titter of yours will fool me for an instant.) * Arisa keeps looking at her hand, turning it over and over. "No, no, not burned.." she replies absently. ( It may not be fun for you, but it's fun for me!) [The tint definitely fades, unless you're paranoid, then you might not be sure it's gone. Sheila peers real close-like too, getting her face close to your hand. "Then what happened?"] ( As if you would ever let me forget it, scamp.) [Meanwhile, upstairs, the hall is the same stupid stone and there are large double-stone-doors leading into various rooms. There are also military types up here, guarding the rooms despite the absence of a master. Julie passes them, fist-salutes coming from all, and she seems to be heading for the door at the end of the hall.] ( I like being scampy! Less clothes mean more emotion.) * Taki shoulders her axe and walks past them like she owns the place, not even spairing them a glance. ( The word you are looking for is skimpy. A scamp is an annoyingly playful child.) ( ... oh.) ( Yes.) (I should make Sheila kiss Arisa's hand. Just to keep her guessing.) I started to... change I think. It was weird. * Arisa puts her hand to her forehead and shakes it. "I don't really know." [Sheila's eyes widen and she goes, "Woooow. Hey, Takishimiru, did you..." she looks for the others to see them gone, and the people having gone back to work. "... go away?"] * Taki is, quite indubitably, not there. * Arisa looks around. "Huh. It seems we lost them. Or they lost us." [Sheila nods a little. "Yeah..."] (Need to AFK for a few) * Arisa looks around the room for any signs of where they might have gone. [There's a door on either side. And people cleaning. Aren't they nice? To be cleaning.] (back) * Arisa points to the doors. "Maybe through there?" [Julie approaches a pair of double doors and pushes them both inward, revealing rows of very thinly-made stone, perhaps twice as big as a textbook in size, in rows. They seem to dominate the room, although there are other things in the room too.] [Sheila nods and says brightly, "There's no reason to go back downstairs so that makes sense!" She heads for one of them immediately.] (Sticking out of the floor? The walls? Are they in some sort of pattern?) [They're in what might as well be stone shelving. It might look like a place to store the world's biggest slide show to you. Sorta.] * Arisa follows Sheila. Not because she may be right, but because losing her would be a pain. (Ahh, okay now.) (This is what I should have planned out. How does a race of fire people store their info? It's sure as hell not paper-based.) (Clay tablets) (Close, but these'll be a little more complex. Anyway!) (Scorched stone) * Taki looks around and asks. "Where is the information on the crystals and the water people?" [Sheila bounds up a staircase leading up. Which is better than bounding DOWN a staircase leading up. It takes her up to a halllway that I described above, although entering from a different place a ways away from the door Taki and Julie are entering.] * Arisa looks around at the doors. "Are you sure they went up this way?" [Julie waves her arm around. "It's all in here... all the most important information is stored here in some way or another..." She starts walking down one of the 'rows' of tablets.] * Taki sets her axe on the ground and reaches for the nearest tablet. [A person with wandering eye would notice a minority of wind-chime-looking things around, as well as beefier stone tablets as opposed to these thin onees, as well as some strange shaped earthenware, but the thin ones definitely dominate the room.] [Sheila says uncertainly, "No, but..."] [The nearest tablet to Taki is thin and partly translucent and seems to have markings on it that... sorta look like letters, but not wholly.] Just pick one and go with it. It's the best... * Taki holds it up to the light and looks at the not actualy letters for a few moments and then shakes her head and puts it back. After picking up her axe she heads off in the direction she last saw Julie in. * Arisa blinks and stops herself and then goes towards the nearest door herself. Yay Zen Direction? Maybe. (I find it amusing that neither one of them has thought to ask the furni... er guards which way they went.) (So do I.) [Arisa starts walking but... it feels wrong. Almost wholly wrong..] [Julie is holding a fired-up hand as she walks along, inspecting the templates.] (I don't. It's Arisa) Weird. (Nearest door != Library door.) * Taki follows the fire to its source and finds Julie. "Don't you have a libriarian for this?" * Arisa keeps walking until it feels right then. [Julie says, a little quietly, "Father didn't... want too many people reading these."] [Arisa eventually gets pointed towards the library door and heads that way! Sheila looks confused at her chicken-dance of Zen Direction and says, "What are you doing?"] * Taki doesn't comment. Keika has a good deal to say about the advantages and disadvantages of forced ignorance, but she's not here. * Arisa stops to look back at Arisa. "Huh? Oh, I'm just doing what I always do. Eventually I get where I'm going." (look back at Sheila. Oy I'm getting tired. x.x) (Aheh.) [Julie is still looking. "It's stupid, really, but my father... well..."] Didn't want anybody to know what he was doing. * Arisa opens the door a moment later and looks in. [Julie and Taki are there!] * Arisa looks inside, and then points at the two of them while looking back at Sheila. "See?" [Julie says, "No! No, we all... knew what he was doing."] * Taki snorts. [Sheila says, "Wow! You have to teach me how to do that."] * Arisa blinks. "It's not something you can teach." ["But I know lots of things! Krystal was a great teacher," she replies.] (For a second there I thought Julie said that and I got massivly confused.) (Snicker.) [Julie doesn't reply because she knows better. She continues looking and eventually says, "... ah. Yes. We can start here..." as she pulls out the piece of translucent stone, holds it at the top, and scans her lit hand over it.] * Taki watches Julie. Nevertheless. * Arisa doesn't nevertheless anything in particular. Just generally neverthelesses. [The lightplay starts to reveal actually readable letters which aren't actually in english which Julie starts to mouth to herself. Okay, it's actually sorta pretty too, but Taki's all 'grr' so that doesn't amtter.] (I'm just curiouse as to how much of the local languages the spell that created Taki and Arisa dumped on them.) * Arisa heads on in. "What'd you find?" (Well, they're good at what serves for 'english' around here but, as per Klingon, hak'kan really doesn't work for you.) * Taki starts to drum her fingers on the haft of the axe but stops when Arisa asks her question. "A place to start and nothing more." * Arisa sighs. "We're always at a good "place to start". I wish we could find something more." [Julie says, "It's some details about the crystals... well, some of them." She smiles slightly. "Can we just say some of the early Op'kahn were near-suicidal and really liked playing with our Jumo crystal?"] So why does the crystal start to change people, Julie? * Taki looks like she's about to say something, and then doesn't. [Julie looks at Arisa in confusion, looking away from the tablet. "... what?"] * Taki eyes Arisa. "And... why do you know this?" (And with regards to you being tired, Julie's research will probably take 'time', and as such the eventual break is reeasonable, AND I'm willing to schedule for the Saturday after this one so that it's not half a bloody year and I forget everything.) (Saturday or Sunday works since EH is on the canned list.) * Arisa looks up at Julie. "Well, when I tried to touch it, it started turning my skin..." She points to Julie's arm. "like that." [Julie looks completely shocked. "It... what?" She sets down the tablet. "I've never heard of that before..."] [Sheila looks stunned too. "Orange? Ugh!"] I take it that it isn't supposed to do that. [Julie shakes her head, "I'd never heard of it anywhere..." she rubs her head. "Well, I guess it's not like a human'd ever get to touch a crystal anyway, but still..."] But it is strange. You mean you've never heard of that before? Really? Has an Op'Hak touched the crystal for prolongued periods? (And Arisa gets a lead by wrecklessly wandering into situations without a care in the world. Go her.) (Snicker.) (It's what she does!) (Yes!) (Must have been Zen Direction. Uh. Yeawh.) (Zen Direction isn't so much a power for Arisa as a way of life. o/~) [Julie says, "Well, father might have. I don't... I never wanted to read these."] So, it infuses one with the spirit of flame, correct? [Sheila says emphatically, "It doesn't infuse anyone! It maintains fire! It's fire's soul!"] [Julie nods hesitantly, "I wouldn't think so, but, well... your arm doesn't lie, eh? " A chuckle. "I wonder what you'd look like Op'Hak..."] * Taki blinks. * Taki then snorts. "That would be too easy. Keep reading." * Arisa looks at Julie and blinks, replying matter-of-factly, "I'd look orange." [Julie shakes her head and starts shining her hand over the tablet again, murmuring, "Not what I meant..."] ( I'd look hot! ...baaaad pun.) ( Don't worry, I can fix that. *freezes Arisa.) (*snickers* I'd like to raise my earlier 'nnng' to a 'homina-homina-homina'?) * Arisa peeks over her shoulder to look at the tablet. [It's pretty! And unreadable, although, oddly enough, being in readable _letters_ to you.] [Just not readable words.] Well? Did the same thing happen with the Opikan? (Taki asked if the same thing happened with the Opikan.) (As opposed to the Op'kahn.) (Yes, because she still can't pronounce the words here.) (Right.) [Julie shakes her head and says, "No... one of them, Rl'kmm, is theorizing about the nature of the crystal, but none of them talk about any sort of transformation..."] I'm not touching that thing again if it turns me... ( Awww.) * Taki sighs. "Nobody actualy knows anything, do they?" The gods should. You know, if they're the ones who made them. [Julie sighs and says, a bit angrily and defensively, "It takes time to read, okay? I'm sorry I'm not the expert on the Jumo crystals! That was my father's obsession."] * Taki blinks. "And if they were around to ask, they might have done something to stop him. Didn't he keep any notes?" [She gestures with her fire hand. "Somewhere in here are his notes, if he kept any..."] * Arisa looks at Taki and nods a little bit. "Fine. We search then?" I don't know about you, but I cannot read them. Can the guards? (Grak. Slipping back into Keika again.) (I can't read them.) Well, notes should be easy enough to find. (And I've got to go to bed to wake up for work tomorrow) [Julie has a thin fron on her face as she finishes her tablet and picks up the next one. Sheila just sorta looks helpless and says, "I... uh, can't really read any of your language stuff... is there anywhere I can go so I'm not in the way?"] [Julie puts down her tablet and says, "I'll show you." And she heads outways...] (We can stop right about here, after any sort of 'last posing'.) * Taki goes that way since she can't read either. (It'd be a good idea. And I have no pose) [Okay! The game breaks for research! Whooooooo research!]